Congressional tax writers are quietly opening what could become the next major front in Washington’s digital asset policy debate, with lawmakers in both chambers weighing legislation aimed at clarifying how cryptocurrencies and other digital assets should be treated under the U.S. tax code.
The discussions, described in a recent client alert from Akin Gump are unfolding alongside broader congressional efforts to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets through market-structure legislation such as the proposed Clarity Act.
While much of the political attention surrounding crypto policy has focused on jurisdictional disputes between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee are increasingly turning to a separate question: how digital assets should be taxed and how aggressively the federal government should enforce compliance.
According to the alert, members of the tax-writing committees believe current tax rules governing digital assets remain ambiguous and outdated, creating uncertainty for investors, decentralized finance platforms and ordinary users.
The most prominent House proposal so far is the Digital Asset PARITY Act, introduced May 19 by Reps. Max Miller (R-OH), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Mike Carey (R-OH) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA). The bipartisan measure would address a range of crypto tax issues, including wash-sale rules, charitable contributions involving digital assets, taxation of digital-asset lending transactions and the treatment of newly created digital assets.
One of the bill’s most closely watched provisions involves so-called “de minimis” transactions involving stablecoins and other digital assets used for payments. Rather than exempting small transactions from taxation entirely — an approach frequently advocated by the crypto industry — the legislation would adopt a “deemed basis” framework intended to simplify tax calculations for everyday users while still preserving reporting obligations. The proposal would also direct the Treasury Department to study whether a broader de minimis regime would be administratively workable.
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The Senate is also considering crypto tax legislation. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has introduced a comprehensive digital asset tax proposal, while Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) has outlined a broader policy framework for congressional action.
The debate comes after Congress previously moved to repeal the Internal Revenue Service’s controversial DeFi Broker Rule, which critics argued would have imposed unworkable reporting obligations on DeFi platforms. The House Ways and Means Committee marked up repeal legislation in early 2025, though the fight exposed partisan tensions that could complicate future negotiations over broader crypto tax reforms.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) has reportedly been working on a separate committee-led proposal and convened a bipartisan briefing for lawmakers and industry stakeholders earlier this month to discuss unresolved tax-policy questions surrounding digital assets.
On the Senate side, Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) has identified crypto taxation as a committee priority, while Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) has emphasized concerns about tax avoidance and enforcement.
The Akin alert notes that Wyden cited testimony from former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig during a 2025 hearing suggesting the crypto-related “tax gap” could be substantially larger than previously estimated because of activity occurring in what Wyden described as the “shadowy” digital asset ecosystem. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has separately criticized bipartisan de minimis proposals as creating “special” rules for crypto rather than ensuring parity with traditional financial assets, while Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) has questioned efforts to defer taxation of mining and staking rewards.
Those disagreements underscore a broader divide emerging across Washington over whether tax policy should accommodate the technological realities of decentralized finance or force digital assets into existing financial and securities-law frameworks.
Despite the disagreements, the alert concludes there is growing bipartisan recognition that existing laws are inadequate both for taxpayers seeking clarity and regulators attempting to enforce compliance. Whether Congress can translate that consensus into legislation may depend on whether lawmakers can separate technical tax questions from the increasingly contentious politics surrounding the digital asset industry itself.